Handel: Cantata, HWV 134, "Nel dolce dell'oblio"
(Nocturnal Thoughts of Phyllis)
Ethel Luening, soprano
Otto Luening, flute
Sterling Hunkins, cello
Ernst Victor Wolff, harpsichord
Recorded c. 1936-37, presumably in New York City, and issued in July, 1937, as Musicraft 1010. The side and matrix information:
Side 1 (GM-5D): Recitative (Nel dolce dell'oblio); Aria (Giacchè il sonno a lei dipinge)
Side 2 (GM-6): Recitative (Così fida ella vive); Aria (Ha l'inganno il suo diletta)
Otto Luening, the flutist on this recording, was later to gain fame as an electronic music pioneer. His wife, Ethel Luening (née Cobb), had been one of the singers at the Rochester-American Opera Company when Otto became a conductor with that organization in 1925; the couple married in 1927 and separated in 1944.
For those unfamiliar with this charming work, the Italian text and an English translation (by Ellen A. Lebow) are reproduced below, along with approximate start times for each section:
1. Recitative (0:01):
Nel dolce dell'oblio, benchè riposi,
La mia Filli adorata veglia coi pensier suoi,
E in quelle quiete Amor non cessa mai con varie forme
La sua pace turbar mentre ella dorme.
In the sweetness of slumber although she rests,
my beloved Phyllis' thoughts are wide awake.
In her repose, Love never ceases with shifting shapes
to agitate her tranquil rest.
2. Aria (0:52):
Giacchè il sonno a lei dipinge
La sembianza del suo bene,
Nella quiete nè pur finge
D' abbraciar le sue catene.
Even now a dream evokes for her
the presence of the one she loves;
in sleep, it seems
her arms embrace the prisoner in his chains.
3. Recitative (4:29):
Così fida ella vive al cuor che adora
E nell' ombre respira
La luce di quel sol per cui sospira.
Thus, faithful girl, she thrills to lean upon the heart that worships her;
in the darkness of sleep she basks
in the radiance of that sun for which she yearns.
4. Aria (4:58):
Ha l'inganno il suo diletta
Se i pensier mossi d'affetto
Stiman ver ciò che non sanno.
Ma se poi
Si risveglia un tal errore
Il pensier ridice a noi;
Ha l'inganno il suo dolore.
Dream-pictures bring joy
if feeling masters thought
and transmutes into seeming reality
that which is not really so.
But afterwards,
if the delusion becomes apparent
when thinking is not blurred by sleep,
then dream-pictures bring only grief.
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